Ilzer highlights key in Hoffenheim’s win over Freiburg

Christian Ilzer openly discussed how he sets up his side in Hoffenheim’s emphatic win over Freiburg.

TSG Hoffenheim ended an eight-game winless run against Freiburg with three second-half goals. Christian Ilzer talked about the game in detail as the hosts remained in the top three.

“The defeat in Munich brought us a lot of praise, but that’s also dangerous.” said Hoffenheim’s coach regarding the reactions after his team’s 5-1 defeat playing with ten for the majority of the game against FC Bayern Munich.

“We needed maturity to be successful against a team like Freiburg. We knew that Freiburg would have fit legs despite playing 120 minutes in the cup, but perhaps they lacked that final bit of mental sharpness. To exploit a tired mind, you have to play at a high tempo.”

Hoffenheim had all the best chances since the disallowed goal by Andrej Kramaric in the fifth minute, but they had to wait until the second-half for their goals. Ilzer specifically mentioned two players in his appreciation message for his team.

“I’m especially happy for Valentin Gendrey’s goal. He has a tough opponent in Vladmír Coufal in his position. Vlad (Coufal) can deliver such performances because he constantly pushes him in training.” said the 48-year-old coach.

Hoffenheim will face Köln on matchday 23 away from home. “It’s dangerous to focus too much on the league table. Now we’re looking at how we prepare for Köln’s game.” said Ilzer at the end of his post-match interview.